Emerging Technologies in Second Grade

"Two heads are better than one, not because either is infallible, but because they are unlikely to go wrong in the same direction." - C.S. Lewis Integrating collaborative technology into a second-grade classroom can be exciting. Since the purpose of education is to prepare students to be successful in their future, we have to think of the digital age they live in. Walking into my classroom, you would experience students in conversation, collaboration and hands-on learning. Students are practicing communication, goal setting and life skills that allow them to thrive in the classroom and beyond. Technology is definitely woven throughout the day, as a tool to empower and challenge students. Yet, to create a collaborative learning space that considers this was a bit challenging. First and foremost, you have to give them explicit instruction. Teaching kids to collaborate with one another using patience, eye contact, and appropriate tone to be successful is one way I prepar...

The students we’re educating today don’t know the world without the internet and technology. I’m not talking about computer labs that students could sign up to use. Today's school technology represents a huge leap forward. Its personal, mobile and universal. So how do educators keep up? We must continue learning and ask ourselves important questions. I believe it's necessary to shop for the best model to fit your circumstances. There are important considerations about implementation and approaches that should be examined to ensure a successful transition. The following six questions are key for helping teams home in on the options that are most likely to match their circumstances, constraints, and ideals.   Here are the 7 questions presented: What problem are you trying to solve?  What type of team do you need to solve the problem?  What do you want students to control?  What do you want the primary role of the teacher to be?  What physical space ...

When first learning about an LMS, my first thought as a primary teacher was Seesaw! We connect, communicate and assess with it. My students love, use and understand it. However, I know for a fact around here that Seesaw stops at 5th grade. One of my former students mentioned they wish they still had it. Jenny Quarles would say that an LMS has the "potential of supporting students over their whole K-20 career with personalized learning experiences such as an LMS is powerful." I have always wondered what they use at the next level. As for an official LMS, we use Moodle at my building. It provides us PD opportunities, weekly schedules, photos and important dates. We can pretty much find what we need on Moodle. Our principal also post quotes or advice or positive affirmations, which really do help moral! If there's ever a question about the week, you can hear many teachers saying "did you check Moodle?" However, we are not allowed to use Google Classroom at the e...

After researching the different digital devices this week, I chose 2 iPad devices that would not only work in my classroom but be an enhancement to my classroom. Ipads are the main voice of technology in my second-grade classroom, so I have to consider the device, the apps and the age of the users.  My district is going away with SmartBoard and Airliners, so I have been trying to find substitutes for said technology. I know a little about Nearpod going into this weeks learning. My district provides us with a paid version of Nearpod, which, if you think about it is amazing. Every single lesson, thousands of lessons from expert educators or educational partners, are free for teachers to use. I love how Nearpod is defined as "an app that introduces students to authentic practices and applications and has them learning together how they can apply these skills in the real world." I feel like with what I have researched, there are not too many dilemmas with the app when it ...

Impacting the learning of our students: What is your rallying cry? We have learned that the first step toward blended learning is defining problems and goals that serve as rallying cries. The problem that persists in my present circumstances is that students misuse and misunderstand technology. Luckily, this is the most urgent problem in my classroom. I believe that due to the fact that most of my co-workers do not know about the ISTE standards, or what they entail, a ‘functional’ team would be the best fit for this problem. As the book Blended: Using Disruptive Innovation to Improve Schools states, “Functional teams are best suited to improving one component of a product or one step of a process” (Horn, 131). Improving students understanding of how to appropriately use technology for education is the specific goal. There are currently two sections of second grade at my school. Together, we always discuss how to help our students and move our instructional practices forward. My te...

How and when do you teach Digital Citizenship?  "We should  drop the word digital in contexts like this one because we’re really just teaching citizenship—these are the skills and knowledge that students need to navigate the world today." -  Anne  Collier When I think about my students, past present and future, Digital Citizenship is definitely an issue. We must adequately teach these skills and guide students to experience situations where they can apply knowledge. Students in my classes surprisingly still do not quite understand internet safety, even after the past decade of issues such as cyberbullying, social media, and all around internet safety. A lot of my students do not have technology at home, so at school, it is like candy. We try to take digital citizenship very seriously and rarely use the iPads or laptops until after weeks of appropriate teaching and personal contracts are signed. So, I especially liked the article  How to Teach Intern...